LAKELAND, Fla. — A Lakeland man has been charged in connection to a 2020 Christmas Eve shootout that killed a family matriarch and wounded three other people in her family.
After nearly five years, the family of Maebelle Cooper, 70, is getting the justice they’ve been seeking.
“I was relieved. A sense of relief just knowing that my mom can rest now,” said Shawanda Lamones.
On Dec. 24, 2020, Lamones’ 15-year-old son went to the Simpson Park Community Center to buy a cell phone when he was robbed at gunpoint. He called Lamones to pick him up. Minutes after the family returned home, a group began shooting at them.
“His 13-year-old sister was shot. His mother suffered a gunshot wound to her chest, and 70-year-old Mae Cooper, the matriarch to this family, sustained two fatal gunshot wounds,” said Roger Handberg, U.S. Attorney.
After two years without any leads, Cooper’s family, beginning to lose hope, reached out to the NAACP Lakeland branch who then contacted U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg.
“Once he got involved, it just took off. It really took off in a whole other direction from the first two years,” said Lamones.
Fast forward to January 2023, officers recovered a firearm while investigating a mass shooting that injured 11 people in Lakeland. Forensic testing matched that same firearm and shell casings to Cooper’s death.
“The weapon was used in that shooting on Iowa Avenue in the January shooting. That weapon was also recovered in a search warrant and also identified as the weapon used to kill Mrs. Cooper,” said Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor.
According to police, Taqiy Lewis, 27, of Lakeland, is the owner of that gun.
Handberg filed a criminal complaint Saturday against Lewis on charges of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.
“He has been identified as the individual who killed Mae Cooper, and he will be held to answer for his crimes,” Handberg said.
Lewis is in prison, serving an unrelated sentence. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
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